The use of window wells around windows in houses-and in buildings is well known. Generally, two different methods have been used to attach window wells to the area of the building surrounding the windows. The choice of which attachment method to use has typically depended upon the type of window mold used to form the window opening itself. Two broad types of window molds are used in forming window openings: permanent window molds and removable window molds.
Permanent window molds are molds which remain permanently embedded in the concrete which was poured around the mold to form the window opening. In other words, the permanent window mold actually becomes a part of the building itself. When permanent window molds are used, the molds themselves often have clips or brackets built into the mold. Window wells may then be bolted directly to the clips or brackets to attach the window wells to the area around the window. This method is very effective, but it is expensive to utilize because each window opening requires its own mold.
In order to avoid the costs of using a permanent mold for each individual window opening, removable molds are sometimes used. Removable molds are designed so that concrete may be poured around the molds, and the molds may then be removed after the concrete has set. Clearly, this is cheaper than using permanent molds, as a single mold may be used to form a large number of window openings. However, conventional use of removable molds leaves unsolved the problem of attaching the window well to the building. This attachment has typically been accomplished by using a nail gun to nail the window well to the concrete, or by use of a drill to create holes in the concrete to allow bolting the window wells to the concrete. Drilling holes in concrete or use of nail guns to attach window wells to concrete is difficult and time-consuming. There is thus a need for an approach which provides the simplicity and ease of use of permanent molds, with the cost effectiveness of removable molds.